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Reverse mentoring is a practice where younger or less experienced employees are paired with more experienced executives or managers to share knowledge and insights. But it requires the right setting and a work culture where opinions and feedback are welcomed, and it needs to be structured properly to work well and to empower and develop learning. It usually works best in larger or siloed organisations where there is usually less mixing across the hierarchy or where the team is geographically not in the same space or spread apart.

Valorie Burton is the author of thirteen books on personal development, founder of The Coaching and Positive Psychology (CaPP) Institute and an international speaker on resilience and happiness. She has spent more than 15 years studying the research of resilience, positive emotion and courage – and implementing it in her own life and with hundreds of clients from a dozen countries and nearly every state in the US. Her books include, It’s About Time, Successful Women Think Differently, Brave Enough to Succeed, among others.

Wondering what questions you should ask your mentee? This article outlines 27 of them, all of which will help you build a meaningful mentoring relationship that leads to growth.

When we’re feeling drained, mentoring is one of the tasks that tends to fall by the wayside. But mentors don’t have to burn themselves out to be helpful and effective. This approach, called “fuel-efficient mentoring” by the authors, suggests how to be a mentor in an efficient manner that benefits mentees, growing their confidence and their network, but also conserves your energy. First, define boundaries and expectations, recognizing your own preferences; second, set a time budget that mentees can draw on; third, reconsider how you structure meetings with mentees and try group conversations; fourth, try virtual meetings; and finally, look for ways to turn other commitments, such as professional events, into mentoring opportunities.

Mentoring and career expert, Professor Ellen Ensher, Ph.D., discusses tips on how to get a mentor during a TEDx talk at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, CA. (http://www.ellenensher.com). For more on this subject, and other tips on mentoring and careers, visit: http://www.ellenensher.com